Kid to Kid is a children’s resale franchise founded on the principle that “kids grow faster than paychecks.” Like a growing child, this franchise has grown steadily for 25 years – even as other brick and mortar retailers struggle for survival.

When the first store opened in November 1992, second hand was considered second rate. Today, thanks to resale stores like Kid to Kid and its sister concept Uptown Cheapskate (for teens and young adults), second hand is considered chic, smart, and eco-friendly. It’s been embraced by middle-America as an acceptable and even superior shopping option. “That’s because of the way resale stores are run today” explains Kid to Kid founder Shauna Sloan.

Today’s resale stores are designed to help sellers and shoppers save money, feel good, and have fun shopping. “We work to be different, better, and special” comments Sloan. This starts with design elements like Kid to Kid’s signature kid-sized “little pink door” and play area that make it fun for little shoppers too.

For Kid to Kid franchisees, being different includes both product selection and how they get products. Unlike traditional thrift stores, Kid to Kid racks are stocked with hundreds of quality items in every size. “By paying cash instead of relying on donations, we’re able to offer better products” explains Sloan. Unlike consignment shops, Kid to Kid pays cash up front, so parents know how much they’ve earned and don’t have to come back to get paid.

“It’s a better way for busy parents to sell their things than trying to do it themselves,” comments Sloan. There’s no picture taking, ad posting, or bargaining with strangers from online sites, so it’s safe and quick and convenient. Instead of spending days pricing and organizing a yard sale, and spending the weekend manning the sale, parents can clean up their things, bring them into the store and be out within an hour. It’s better for shoppers too. Kid to Kid is open every day so they can shop organized racks in air conditioned comfort, while still getting incredible deals.

What makes Kid to Kid special? According to Sloan, “each item is a one-of-a-kind, with about 50 different brands and several hundred items in each size” – which makes shopping fun. Items are priced at a fraction of original resale, so everything’s very affordable – which is also fun. “It’s like hunting for treasure when the treasure is easy to find!” adds Sloan.

25 years of success comes with constant changes to adapt and adjust to a changing market place. “Kids keeps growing and we do too,” explains Sloan. Kid to Kid stores today are bigger and stocked with or four times more product than 25 years ago. Select new products supplement the used items. And the intake and business systems have improved significantly. But the real focus of helping local families stretch their budget and outfit their kids in style hasn’t changed and will continue for years to come.

About Kid to Kid: Kid to Kid is a children’s resale clothing store franchise founded in 1992. Kid to Kid has bought and sold hundreds of millions of quality children’s items at their brick and mortar locations throughout the country. On November 15th, 2017, all Kid to Kid stores nationwide will hold a special event and offer 25% off their entire inventories to celebrate the Anniversary. For more information, visit kidtokid.com.

As hundreds of retail outlets across the country are shuttering their doors, it’s refreshing to find a franchise concept that’s as sustainable as solar power celebrating 25 years of helping families stretch their budgets. All day every day, Kid to Kid pays out cash to parents for the things their kids are no longer using. That money goes right back into the local community – not to foreign manufacturers. Other parents and kids are shopping for toys, clothes, and baby gear at bargain prices. This creates a community of sharing, where families can conveniently recoup part of the investment they made in outfitting their child and help other neighborhood families outfit their own kids.

“It’s hand-me-downs on steroids” according to franchise founder Shauna Sloan. “When you sell to Kid to Kid, you not only get paid, but you know that the things your kids loved will go to someone who needs and wants them.” The child getting the “hand-me-downs” gets to select just the right style and fit, and shop just like they would at the mall. There’s no second-hand stigma – just affordable clothes and toys for growing kids.

Kid to Kid opened its first store on Black Friday in 1992. Since then it’s grown into an international franchise with over 100 stores in 4 countries. But even though it’s an international franchise, the impact of each store is very local. “We buy and sell millions of items each year – pumping the money for the things we buy right back into the pockets of the families in each community” explains franchise founder Shauna Sloan. What that means is families with a little more disposable income for things like vacations and enriching activities.

Each store is locally owned and operated. “Our store owners really care about the communities where they live, and know the issues fellow parents are facing,” comments Sloan. A “Go Bagless” program supports local charities, as does the hundreds of pounds of clothing donated each week to needy families. They support local sports teams and area schools. Twice a year, the franchise joins together for charity Fill-a-Bag fundraisers to help build schools in the neediest communities around the world. Kid to Kid has built 8 schools so far, and raised tens of thousands of dollars for Hurricane Harvey relief.

In the recent years of economic flux and dwindling family resources, the resale shopping option has become more attractive to mainstream shoppers. “The typical Kid to Kid customer is a college educated Mom, who is savvy enough to stretch her family budget by embracing resale,” explains Sloan. According to NARTS (National Association of Resale and Thrift Stores), the number of resale shops is growing at the rate of 7% per year.

Brick and mortar resale shops are thriving because shoppers love the convenience of being able touch and feel products and try them on, and bring them home to use immediately. Convenience is also a huge factor. It’s much faster to look through 300+ items in a size at Kid to Kid than look through online resale sources one page at a time, or to meet someone in a parking lot to exchange goods.

About Kid to Kid: Kid to Kid is a children’s resale clothing store franchise founded in 1992. Kid to Kid has bought and sold hundreds of millions of quality children’s items at their brick and mortar locations throughout the country. On November 15th, 2017, all Kid to Kid stores nationwide will hold a special event and offer 25% off their entire inventories to celebrate the Anniversary. For more information, visit kidtokid.com.

Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. These were common buzz words in the early 90’s – even before curbside recycling became the norm, and people learned about their ecological footprint. Recycling was difficult. Newspapers had to be taken to remote recycle bins. Recycling rarely paid – and in fact some communities charged to dump household recycling bins. When Kid to Kid started paying cash to parents to recycle their gently used kid’s clothing toys and baby gear, it was a truly unique concept.

Fast forward 25 years. Second-hand shopping has become accepted by mainstream America, and embraced as a budget and ecologically friendly way to meet the needs of the entire family. According to NARTS (National Association of Resale and Thrift Stores), the resale industry is growing by 7% per year, reflecting the estimated number of new stores opening each year. Kid to Kid has grown into an international children’s resale franchise that recycles millions of items each year in over 100 stores.

The growth of resale is fueled in large part by the public’s increased awareness of recycling. Eco-aware consumers prefer to purchased recycled goods in order to minimize their impact on the environment. They also prefer to sell or donate their unwanted things rather than add to the waste stream. With the advent of internet trading on eBay, Craig’s List, and more recently Facebook Marketplace, selling has become easier. But some find that form of recycling to be too time consuming.

At Kid to Kid, parents receive cash on the spot for the things their kids have outgrown. They can also shop in air-conditioned comfort from a huge selection of high quality, slightly used replacement items at bargain prices. “It’s a win-win-win for families” explains franchise founder Shauna Sloan. They earn money for things their kids aren’t using that we can resell. They can donate the items that don’t quite meet our standards to local charities and earn a tax deduction. And they save a huge amount shopping in our stores.” It’s also a win for the community, as millions of dollars are pumped back into the wallets of the local families who buy, sell, and save.

Today’s consumer is economical and has many shopping choices. There’s a growing awareness that resale shopping means higher quality for less money – whether that’s on Facebook Marketplace, in a thrift store, or at a resale shop like Kid to Kid. “Our core customer base is educated, middle income families who recognize quality but love to get a deal” comments Sloan. “Kid to Kid shoppers are choosing to save on purchases of clothing, toys, and nursery gear so they’ll have money for vacations and enriching activities for their kids.” Those same customers are fueling the growth of specialty resale shops like Uptown Cheapskate (Kid to Kid’s teen/young adult fashion exchange), consignment furniture shops, and even thrift stores like Goodwill. And like the growing kids that have enabled 25 years of growth at Kid to Kid, resale has a promising future.

About Kid to Kid: Kid to Kid is a children’s resale clothing store franchise founded in 1992. Kid to Kid has bought and sold hundreds of millions of quality children’s items at their brick and mortar locations throughout the country. On November 15th, 2017, all Kid to Kid stores nationwide will hold a special event and offer 25% off their entire inventories to celebrate the Anniversary. For more information, visit kidtokid.com.

Salt Lake City, UT: 2017 has been an apocalyptic year for retail with more than 5,000 stores slated to close. Children’s specialty retail has been among the hardest hit sectors of the retail business. Gymboree closed 350 stores on its way to bankruptcy. Children’s Place plans to close down 300 stores by 2020 as it transitions to online sales. Toys “R” Us abruptly filed for bankruptcy in September. Amid those failures, success stories are harder to come by.

That makes the Kid to Kid experience atypical, as this children’s resale franchise celebrates its 25th year in business with more than 100 U.S. stores in operation with plenty of future growth. Eight new stores opened in 2017 in Texas, Indiana, Colorado, Georgia, Nevada, and Virginia. Six stores opening in first quarter of 2018 include locations in Pasadena, Texarkana, Grand Rapids, Charleston, Kyle, and Richmond.

Kid to Kid creates a unique shopping experience in boutique-like stores filled with quality merchandise. Kid to Kid President Shauna Sloan explains that “Kid to Kid provides an in-store experience that can’t be found online. Parents can touch and feel thousands of toys, hundreds of unique items in every size, and test drive a like-new Ergo carrier that’s listed on Amazon for over $100, but priced around $55 at her local Kid to Kid.A new Mom shopping online can’t try on Gap 1969 Maternity jeans and make sure they fit before she pulls the trigger – let alone buy them for about $12.”

Parents with growing children face substantial and growing expenses. According to a recent report from the Department of Agriculture, the cost of rearing a child born in 2015 has reached $233,610. To combat those rising expenses, millennial parents are more likely than their parents to cut costs through savvy shopping choices. This trend has led to a surge in resale shopping, through outlets like Facebook Marketplace, online retailers like Thredup, and in-person boutiques like Kid to Kid. The National Association of Resale and Thrift stores estimates the resale market growth at 7% annually for the next five years. Now in their 25th year of business, Kid to Kid looks to capitalize on this trend by continuing to offer cash for outgrown children’s clothing, toys, and baby gear. Local stores then resell these pre-screened items at attractive prices. More than 90% of the product in a Kid to Kid is locally sourced. This business model is sustainable, green friendly, and best experienced in person.

“We focus on the treasure hunt at Kid to Kid,” says store manager Amy Deal. “Our shoppers want to get out of the house. They want to hunt for bargains, and they want to experience the local community vibe our store gives to them. That’s something they can’t find online.”

About Kid to Kid: Kid to Kid is a children’s resale clothing store franchise founded in 1992. Kid to Kid has bought and sold hundreds of millions of quality children’s items at their brick and mortar locations throughout the country. On November 15th, 2017, all Kid to Kid stores nationwide will hold a special event and offer 25% off their entire inventories to celebrate the Anniversary. For more information, visit kidtokid.com.